I barely noticed the ride down in the elevator. All four of us were quiet, caught up in our own thoughts. Braxton’s warmth pressed along my side as we leaned back together against the wall. His presence worked better than anything at keeping fear at bay.

Mischa and the twins waited for us in front of our building. Standing with them was Quale.

“What are you doing here?” I asked the mystic. Yeah, it was blunt, but we had no time for niceties.

He didn’t pretend to be a moron, answering me succinctly. “You need me to drop the magical barriers.”

Right. I’d forgotten about that. Louis was going to create a step-though for us, but it wouldn’t work from within the sanctuary – the ancient magics which protected this place were too strong.

“How come you could step-through to Faerie then?” I asked Louis.

He shrugged. “It’s much more difficult from inside the barriers, I’d rather not expend that sort of energy right now. It’s easy enough to exit the sanctuary first.”

Fair enough.

We started to walk, following the gray-haired fey. I oriented myself to keep the fruit twins in sight. I knew they had something planned, I wasn’t letting them get the drop on me. I wanted a shot at preempting their next move.

Mischa strode into view, and all of my worries returned. Just seeing her drawn features, the way she trailed those two bitches. This shit had to end.

I caught up to her, reaching out to link my arm through hers. I spoke before she could.

“Look, I don’t get what is going on with you, I have no idea what they offered you, but I need you to remember … you’re my sister. My twin. No matter what, you belong in our pack.”

Mischa blinked rapidly before opening her mouth. I cut her off.

“No, there is nothing to say now. You clearly have an alliance with them and we have no choice but to follow through on this promise. But you and I both know that once the dragon king is dead, they’re going to run their asses underground and hide for eternity.” If I haven’t already killed them by that point. “And then, Misch, I will be right here for you.” My twin was fighting an internal battle, now was not the time for me to turn my back on her.

She bit her lip, suppressing whatever emotions wanted to emerge. We both knew it wasn’t the place to show our weaknesses, but I had to try. I had to extend a hand because I was pretty sure that should I lose my twin, the devastation would be all encompassing.